Digital data is now commonly transferred within buildings and dwellings. A non exhaustive list, to which many others could be added, includes instructional and informational digital signals provided between items of computer equipment, control and feedback digital signals provided to and from appliances, and control and content defining digital signals provided to, from and between media equipment such as television displays and recorders, video players, and audio playing and recording equipment.
It is known to employ many different types of medium for transfer of digital data. Wire connection is popular. Twisted pair wires can be used, as in Ethernet cables, or co-axial cable, multi screened cable or any other sort of wire or cable. Wires and cables are not without their disadvantages. Wires and cables have the disadvantage of being lossy, particularly at higher frequencies, are not immune from crosstalk, and, due to inherent inter-conductor capacitance, can impose a maximum and relatively low bandwidth or data rate on any signal. Another problem with wire or cable data transfer links is the existence of inherent characteristic impedance which has to be accurately matched by terminations if reflections in the wire of cable are to be avoided. Reflections can destroy the intelligibility of digital signals and limit the useful distance a digital signal can be propagated. Yet another disadvantage of wires and cables is the immovability of the equipment to which they are attached. The route of equipment wires or cables must be planned and laid out free from obstruction to humans or animals before any move can be made. The aesthetics of cables and wires can also leave much to be desired. When using wire or cable, many considerations, all of which must be simultaneously correct, must be taken into account. The present invention seeks to provide a solution to the many problems encountered when using wires and cables, allowing for easy movement of equipment with none of the myriad matching and bandwidth difficulties.
Some equipment employs fibre optic cables in a domestic or business setting. Fibre optic cables can provide ultra high bandwidths. However, the cables are once again fixed, making movement of the equipment to which they are attached limited, difficult or impossible. Joining fibre optic cables to a terminal or to each other is a precision operation, requiring high skills of any person setting up, connecting or repairing any system. By avoiding some of the problems of wires or cables, fibre optics introduces another set of difficulties. The present invention seeks to avoid problems associated with fibre optic cables, providing instead a solution allowing ready connection with no high skill levels being required.
Wireless data transfer has also been used. As only two examples, Bluetooth (a registered Trademark) is a system of radio transmitters and receivers used, typically, to provide services from remotely connected equipment in a mobile telephone. WiFi is a radio bidirectional coupling protocol using 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz used to couple portable computer equipment to local transceivers providing access to the Internet of any other network. A difficulty with any radio coupling, which is also not unknown with wire, cable or fibre optic coupling, is the relative power requirements of terminal equipment, necessitating at least a fresh battery and possibly a mains power supply for sustainability. This is wasteful of energy, wastes potentially toxic battery and power supply materials and their attendant manufacturing carbon dioxide emissions, is not “green” (a casual term for “environmentally conservational”). The present invention seeks to provide energy efficiency in data transfer. The present invention further seeks to provide for energy transfer in accompaniment with data transfer.
Wireless transfer of energy is known using contact pads whereon an apparatus, such as a rechargeable toothbrush, razor, music player or similar apparatus is placed to allow recharging of an internal battery using a magnetic core within the pad. The core within the pad carries an AC field which can be magnetically coupled to a secondary core within or connected to the apparatus. When the apparatus is placed on the pad, the AC magnetic field induces voltage on a secondary winding on the secondary core. The secondary winding provides charging power fort the battery. It is also known to connect an antenna to the outside glass of a vehicle and feed radio frequency power and energy by means of a capacitive coupling immediately behind the connection point inside the vehicle glass. Both these energy and possible data coupling solutions are extremely short range, and involve intense fields which can be a potential hazard.